Li Bingbing will play the lead in Nest, writer-director Kimble Rendall’s 3D sci-fi thriller which will start production in Queensland next month.
Li will also serve as one of the producers on the Chinese/Australian co-production, which centres on a group of scientists who discover a well-preserved mummified Emperor from 200 BC China.
The plot follows the scientists as they encounter a swarm of man-eating funnel web spiders in an ancient labyrinth and strive to discover the secret behind the insects’ power and intelligence.
The actress’ credits include Transformers: Age of Extinction, Resident Evil: Retribution and Zhongkui: Snow Girl and the Dark Crystal, which grossed $80 million in China this year.
Darclight, the genre label of Gary Hamilton’s Arclight Films, is co-producing Nest with Beijing-based Loongs United Investment Company Ltd., which distributed Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit and the Jason Statham starrer Redemption in China.
Hamilton tells IF that Li will play a scientist named Jia. The two co-leads have not yet been cast but will be US or Australian.
Rising Sun Pictures is handling the visual and special FX. The film will shoot at the Village Roadshow Studios and on location in South East Queensland. The investors include Screen Australia and Screen Queensland. Tait Brady’s Label is the Australian distributor.
Elliot Tong, head of Asian sales and acquisitions for Arclight Films, said: ”Nest is the first sci-fi thriller of its kind to be approved as a Chinese coproduction. The unrelenting script does justice to the genre and convinced the censors that now is the perfect time for it.”
The producers include Gary Hamilton, Ying Ye, Mark Lazarus, Serena Deng and Li Bingbing. Arclight is pre-selling the film in Toronto.